I'm finally in Israel, in the city of Tel-Aviv, visiting my mother and two of my three sisters...YAY!!!!! It's been 10 years since I've seen my mother and my littlest sister, and 16 years since I saw my other sister...so, it's safe to say that this "gathering" was waaaaaaaaaaaay overdue

I just wanted to say hello to all my genealogy friends in the same place that way not one of you can say I forgot to wave from far away

Hugs

It is currently 6:10 pm over here, I'm pretty pooped so I definitely need to try to catch some zzzzzs

Carole, that is right... I do not read, speak or write the language, but my niece said you did it correctly Thank you!

Cathy, I'm so happy you could take some time and enjoy far away from snowy/freezing Chicago... I'm still hoping you stay around long enough for me to get to meet you before you go back Enjoy sunny weather for me!!

Hey Nuccia...err... Boss.... ... I surely do not envy the snow shaveling, but I do wish it would snow for Christmas day ONLY. Not likely to happen in Florida, but hey you never know, ha!!

Hi Liz So glad you arrived safely. How I would have loved to have been a 'fly on the wall' when you all met up. I'd bet it was a very happy and emotional moment. Enjoy every minute of your holiday.
Love Emmy

I'm enjoying every minute of it, though I have some things to say about the rudeness of people "in general" over here. The sister I had not seen in 16 years was telling me yesterday that the rudeness is a cultural thing, not to take it personal and that eventually rubs off on you I don't know I want that to happen...LOL

My mother took me to the Old City in Jerusalem and I got pretty emotional when I went to the site where it's said Jesus was crucified. I will be going back to that area sometime next week and get to walk through more of the streets there as there are vendors and so many more things to see and smell

I've eaten some of the food here and so far, I can't complaint. The coffee, now there is something I am not drinking and yesterday, for the first time ever, I wished there was a Starbucks somewhere

Liz, I am living vicariously through you. That is one place I would like to visit "before I die." Do you feel safe there?

I almost wrote about the "safety" issue earlier... For whatever reason I felt very safe up until I was "in" Jerusalem. Weird as it may sound, I had no funky safety concerns at all while I was inside the Old City, my fear came when we boarded a small (bigger than a van, but not a real bus) transport mini bus I was "watching" who got in it and whether or not they looked suspicious. For a moment I felt some unneassiness about being in such a small thing with people who could, for all I knew, want to harm people just for the sake of it. Of course, once we got on our way and got off the mini bus I felt stupid...but nevertheless, it's hard not to think that something horrible could happen at any moment

As with everything I guess, there are things to be careful about, but for the most part it has been very nice for me to realize that this a civilized country just like any other, with their own problems of course, and that people do go about their daily lives like everyone else I know in the States.

My husband and I feared coming here because of all the bad things we hear about in the news, and every time my family would invite me I would decline. Now that I've finally come here, minus the husband and kids, I'm 100% happy I did so. The two cities I've seen thus far, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, have been very nice. My mom lives a few blocks, walking distance, from the Mediterranean and that was pretty cool to see. I know I'll be taking a tour sometime this weekend, to the Dead Sea and perhaps cross over to Egypt for a day, before I leave here...I got to make the most of it as I do not know when I will get the chance to come back here again

Its funny you mention the dead sea. This past february, i was diagnosed with psoriasis. I probably had it for years and years..only, didnt know what it was. I finally had a flare up, big enough to know..i had something..so one dermatologist trip later..i found out what i had. This is a life long immune system disease, with no cure..but different kinds of treatment. Lucky for me..i only need ointments..but some people have it so bad, they need infusions of biological drugs. All of these treatments, work on some people..and not on others.

When i found out i had this, of course you look to the net for info..and i found the national psoriasis foundation forums and also another forum out of the UK. Well..apparently, there is something at the dead sea in the air, that puts psoriasis patients into remissions for a period of many months..and some, for years. They claim its a mixture of the filtered sun, that they can lay out in without sunscreen. The sun is good for some people with psoriasis..but, you cant use sunblock..so can only expose yourself to it for a few minutes a day..but, at the dead sea, seems like people can lay out there, for hours. I think it has something to do with the mist in the air..or some such.

Anywayyyyyyyy...these UK people have yearly trips to spas there, which are used by people with psorisis. I am not too sure but i think some go to israel and others go to jordan. I did a few big eyerolls, thinking OMG is that safe? But, apparently it is..because they go all of the time.

Its not abnormal to be a little afraid tho..I know I was a little nervous going to NYC 6 months after 911. That feeling passes, tho.

Have a wonderful trip. I just wanted you to know..others are going there and they arent worried..so dont let it spoil your long overdue visit with your family.

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